Of Hot Chocolate And Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies
by Tarma Hartley
Summary: A BarnWright Christmas gift fic for Siberian74. Phoenix and Zacharias celebrate their first Christmas together as a married couple; Zacharias reflects on his life with Phoenix in it and how lucky he feels. And enjoys his special hot chocolate and oatmeal-raisin cookies. Zacharias Barnham x Phoenix Wright


**FREAKIN AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME BarnWright thumbnail artwork is a commission that milesphoenix did for me! THANKS! ^)^  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _A/N: I do not own Phoenix Wright, Zacharias Barnham or Constantine (the dog); they belong to CAPCOM & Level-5, respectively. The mushy plot, however, is mine. ^)^  
_ **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**  
 ** _  
_** _Phoenix and Zacharias celebrate their first Christmas together as a married couple; Zacharias reflects on his life with Phoenix in it and how lucky he feels. And enjoys his special hot chocolate and oatmeal-raisin cookies.  
_ **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

For siberian74.

Inspired by my actual first time making of oatmeal-raisin cookies from a recipe I found online. *A bit crispy but still good. I let them cook a little *too* long... I left them on for an additional two minutes when I should have left them in only one more minute.* And, yes, oatmeal-raisin cookies are one of my personal favourites! ^)^

Sappy Christmas story but that's what the holidays are for! ^.^ I had originally meant for this to be an entry into my BarnWright shorts series, _Crossed Swords_ , but I couldn't seem to wrap it up neatly into five paragraphs no matter how I tried to do so and I decided to make it a full-fledged fic instead. Works AWESOME that way! ^)^

^.^ A BarnWright gift for Siberian74! Hope you enjoy! ^_^

I may change some things at some point; always room for improvement! ^)^

Rated K, Zacharias Barnham x Phoenix Wright, male/male relationships, Romance  
 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _December 25_ _th_  
 _Christmas Day_  
 _Home of Phoenix & Zacharias Barnham_  
 _Living Room_  
 _Labyrinthia_  
 _7:30 P.M._

Zacharias Barnham stood in front of the large window in the living room, looking out into the dark, snowy night beyond. He was dressed in a purple and diamond patterned sweater, black slacks and house slippers, his cheeks slightly pink and his red hair frosted with small flakes of snow. He still had his black scarf wrapped around his neck and he smiled as he remembered the good time that he, his new husband Phoenix Wright and their scapegrace dog, Constantine, had had earlier that night.

They'd come in a few minutes earlier and Phoenix had disappeared into the kitchen as soon as they had divested themselves of their winter clothing at the foyer, returning rather quickly with a steaming mug for Zacharias which he handed to him, planting a soft kiss on his lips before he went back into the kitchen.

 _A beautiful evening,_ he thought to himself, lifting the mug to his lips, blowing on it to cool it a bit before he took a sip, smiling as he felt the hot, creamy liquid flow down his throat, _and even better since the three of us shared it together._ He well remembered the stand-off between the two of them when Sir Blue Knight had come to live with them three years earlier. He was relieved that they had come to a truce of sorts, managing to live together in a peaceable fashion until, much to his relief, Constantine had come to-warily-accept Phoenix's presence which was just as well since Zacharias had no intention of giving him up.

He took another sip, his mind traveling back to the early days, to the time before he and Phoenix became a couple, the day that Phoenix and Maya had first arrived in Labyrinthia. They had clashed many times in the beginning-and that was putting it very mildly-but, as time went on, he came to grudgingly respect his (most) talented rival. Which, itself in time, turned into a firm friendship before it eventually turned into love. He couldn't help but chuckle as he stood there, remembering their court battles with a distinct pleasure.

 _He certainly was much more than just a baker, even at the beginning; much,_ much _more. It took longer than it should have to realize this but, in the end, it was exactly the_ right _time._ He chuckled again, a sobering thought coming into his mind. _What a fool I was to have let it go that long... It was indeed fortuitous that someone else didn't come along and snap him up before I had the chance._

The six foot tall evergreen Christmas tree was beautifully decorated with multi-colored lights of purple, red, green, blue and yellow that twinkled in the semi-darkness with silver and blue garlands draping gracefully from the top of the tree to the bottom branches and numerous decorations of all kinds, stood in the far corner, Christmas carols playing softly in the background.

He hummed along as he looked out into the darkness, holding a steaming blue ceramic mug of hot chocolate, with a generous handful of marshmallows and plenty of whipped cream piled on top with a soft sprinkling of cinnamon his right hand, the fingertips of his left lying softly on the windowsill.

He loved Phoenix's homemade hot chocolate and couldn't help but wonder where he had gotten such an amazing, and tasty, recipe. When he had asked him once, Phoenix had merely smiled and said that it was a _secret family recipe_ and had said nothing more, despite Zacharias' attempts to get it out of him.

In the end, he had given up and determined that, no matter _where_ it had come from, it was more delicious and creamy than others that he had before and store bought just didn't have the same taste that it once had. Despite its mysterious beginnings, Zacharias was determined to enjoy it as often as he could and, in this, he indulged himself to the limit.

He took another swallow, his mind traveling back to the early days in the time before he and Phoenix became a couple, the day that Phoenix and Maya had first arrived in Labyrinthia. They had clashed many times in the beginning but, as time went on, he came to grudgingly respect his (most) talented rival which, itself in time, turned into a firm friendship before it slowly turned into love. He couldn't help but chuckle as he stood there, remembering their court battles with a distinct pleasure.

 _He certainly was much more than just a baker, even at the beginning._ Zacharias grinned as he took another sip. _Much_ , much _more. It took longer than it should have to realize this but, in the end, it was_ exactly _the_ right _time._ He chuckled mirthfully again, taking a large swallow.

"Zacharias?" Phoenix's voice broke into his reverie and he half turned his head to look at his husband, standing beside him dressed in a purple and black diamond sweater with black slacks and slippers, a plate of freshly baked oatmeal-raisin cookies held in one hand, a most curious expression on his face.

"Yes?"

"Are you all right?" Phoenix frowned, his brow creased in concern.

Zacharias started. _I wonder how I must have appeared?_

He smiled and nodded as he leaned over, planting a soft kiss on his lips, Phoenix visibly relaxing as he returned it.

"I'm fine, really. I was merely woolgathering," he assured him before his slate-grey eyes flickered down and settled on the magenta plate that he held in his hand. "What have you there?"

Phoenix smiled, a pleased look on his face as he saw Zacharias' delighted expression. "Your favourite kind." He held out the plate toward him. "Oatmeal-raisin cookies."

Zacharias said nothing in reply but his widened eyes spoke volumes as he reached for the plate, nabbing a cookie and lifting it to his mouth, taking a large bite. His eyes closed in pure food ecstasy as pleased moans came from him as he chewed, the delicious flavours bursting out over his tongue.

"This is delicious, Phoenix," he said after he had swallowed, pausing to take another bite.

"I'm glad that you like them, Zacharias." Phoenix leaned in closer and Zacharias chuckled as he did so."I haven't made them for awhile so I thought that this evening would be the perfect time to bake them." He grinned. "And they make the perfect accompaniment to my hot chocolate."

Zacharias had to agree. "I like the way you think," he remarked as he took another bite, Phoenix's peal of laughter filling the room as he did so.

Silence reigned between them for a few moments until it was broken by the sound of padding paws coming in from the kitchen. Both Zacharias and Phoenix turned their heads to look at the sound as Constantine trotted into the room, the latter yawning loudly as he did so.

He sat down on his haunches in front of them, his head tilting slightly to the right. It appeared, to both Zacharias and Phoenix, as if the dog were watching them closely and both men were amused by the serious expression on his face.

Zacharias looked at Phoenix who looked back at him as he reached for another cookie on the plate. "It appears as if Constantine would like us to repair to the couch to watch some Christmas DVDs." He half smiled at the goofy canine expression that appeared on the white dog's face as he wagged his tail, woofing happily. "I also suspect that he would like a cookie, himself."

Phoenix chuckled as he turned and walked over to the couch, putting the plate on the coffee table and picking up the remote as Zacharias joined him, Constantine following closely behind . "I suspect that you're right."

Zacharias' eyes shone as he sat next to Phoenix, putting his mug down on the top of the table with a soft "clink" and patting his lap. Constantine didn't waste a moment before he leaped up, stretching out across both Phoenix's, and his master's laps, with a sigh of contentment.

Phoenix grinned as he pressed the button on the remote and Zacharias broke off two large pieces of cookie which he promptly fed to Constantine, his canine companion woofing as he inhaled them.

"It looks as if your cookies are a hit with the canine crowd, as well." Zacharias couldn't keep the teasing note out of his voice.

"Apparently." Phoenix scratched behind Constantine's ears and the small dog woofed in pleasure, his leg twitching.

Zacharias chuckled low in his throat, his hand creeping across the couch and taking Phoenix's in his own, a dreamy look in his eyes.

"I love you, Phoenix." His fingers curled around his husband's as he said the words.

"I love you, too, Zacharias," he replied, his fingers squeezing Zacharias' with affection and it was with that that they turned their attention back to the television set and the DVD which was playing.

Phoenix couldn't help but to look over at Zacharias, a soft, loving look on his face.

 _I can't believe that this lovely man is mine._ He smiled dreamily. _I'm truly the most lucky man in the world to have such a wonderful husband as Zacharias. How did I get so lucky?_

He turned back to the screen and settled in to watch the movie, feeling Zacharias' hand curl once more around his own. His heart soared as he returned the affectionate gesture and felt the slight trembling of Zacharias' fingers.

"Merry Christmas, Inquisitor," he murmured, his eyes closing for a moment before he opened them again, his fingertips scratching behind Constantine's ears which sent the dog into a paroxysm of happy woofs and leg kicking.

Zacharias smiled as he leaned over to give Phoenix a soft kiss.

"And Merry Christmas to you, as well, Sir Blue Knight."

 _Yes. All is as it should be._

 _ **.:FIN:.**_


End file.
